Airtel Uganda has increased the number of bonus shares on offer to investors in its initial public offering on the Uganda Securities Exchange, as the telecoms company seeks to boost interest in the listing days before it closes on Friday.
The telecom is offering eight billion shares – 20 per cent of its overall stock – to the public at a price of Shs100 per share. The minimum number of shares that can be applied for is 2,500, at a cost of Shs250,000. Subsequent increases must be made in multiples of 500.
Under the new incentive structure announced Wednesday, retail investors buying up to 18.5mn shares will receive ten bonus shares (11 if applying with Airtel money), up from five, for every 100 shares assigned. Investors who apply for up to 37mn shares will now receive 20 bonus shares for every 100 shares allocated, and those who buy more than 37mn shares will receive 40 bonus shares for every 100 shares allotted.
For professional investors, bonus shares will only be allocated to those who purchase more than 40mn shares in the public float. Those purchasing up to 200mn shares will receive 20 complimentary shares for every 100 shares allotted, while those purchasing between 200mn and 400mn shares will receive 30 extra shares for every 100 shares assigned.
Investors purchasing 400mn to 1.85bn shares will receive 80 bonus shares for every 100 shares allotted. Those who order 1.85bn shares or more will receive an additional 112 shares for every 100 shares allocated.
Airtel said investors who bought shares before the revised incentive structure will also receive additional bonus shares.
Manoj Murali, the company’s managing director, said Airtel wanted to encourage “broad ownership” of its shares. “We are excited about our growth trajectory and have, at minimum, doubled the incentive shares available to all categories of investors to further enhance the attractiveness of our IPO,” he told a press conference.
Absa Bank Uganda is leading the offering, which closes this Friday.
Originally scheduled for 13 October, the IPO closing date was postponed to 27 October due to insufficient investor interest. The results of the offering will be announced on 6 November – Airtel said Ugandan investors will be given priority in the event of oversubscription – and the company will be listed on the main investment segment of the USE the following day.
